Has teacher day outlived its importance?

When Dr. Radhakrishnan became the president of India in 1962, some of his students and friends approached him and requested him to allow them to celebrate 5th September, his "birthday". In reply, Dr, Radhakrishnan said, "instead of celebrating my birthday separately, it would be my proud privilege if September 5 is observed as Teachers' day". The request showed Dr.Radhakrishnan's love for the teaching profession. From then onwards, the day has been observed as Teachers' Day in India.

Remember Socrates. Well, he considered himself a learner as well as a teacher. For Socrates, love and friendship were the proper contexts for the pursuit of wisdom and goodness. Socrates saw himself only as a catalyst. He felt it was not his teaching, but actually the power of the Divine, which enabled the person, he was talking with to improve himself.

Teachers are supposed to mold the lives that they influence. Lessons learned from teachers remain with their students throughout life.

On this context, I ask my reader “ Has teachers day outlived its importance?”

Be honest and speak out. Do you really feel that teacher’s day celebration is heartfelt?

In the rat race of life and materialism, we have forgotten the reasons for the reverence of this particular day as teacher’s day.

I vividly remember how teachers would dress up in gaudy clothes with ‘greasepaints’ on their faces, carrying extra big bag for teacher day celebration. Later on, I realized that the number of cards, flowers or gifts (received surreptitiously) a teacher receives determined her popularity. In fact she acted like the queen bee, calling the rooster and showing off her possessions.

I would also like to mention the writings in Manu Smriti, which states, "By accepting gifts the divine light in the person gets extinguished". Manu warns every individual against accepting gifts for the reason that it places the acceptor under an obligation in favor of the person who gave the gift and ultimately it results in making a person to do things, which are not permitted according to law.

I wonder whether these ‘learned ‘ people ever experiences pangs of guilt. I have my doubts.

Look around you; notice the sudden demand for tuition teachers. Now, who is responsible for this? Parents are forced to send their wards for tuition because their children’s marks have suddenly plummeted and the only one who could salvage their sagging marks are their teachers. It is like our famous coalition government – high marks and tuition.

Looking from a broader perspective, we cannot really blame the teacher’s alone for creating a demand for private tuition.Many teachers are exhausted from their workload and responsibilities. They have their own families, financial and life stresses that challenge them along with everyone else. And what does a teacher earns vis-à-vis the amount of labor he/she puts in?

But, then, who are suffering? -The students, the teachers and the fate of our world. We all can see the results on newspaper and televisin. The recent killing of the professor in Ujjain speaks eloquently about the attitude of the student fraternity towards the educators.

This makes me ponder on the relevance of celebrating teachers’ day. I feel that we are making a mockery of the great teacher’s wish. He would have never, in his wildest dreams, have fathomed the deteriorating ethical standard in the teaching profession that is ubiquitous now.

It is a sad reality that teachers that break down barriers and reach into the souls of the students that they are responsible for do not get the recognition or gratitude they have earned. Teachers need encouragement and support from the community to feel that their devotion to students is appreciated.

When I say teachers, I mean all individual, whether they are professional teachers or not. Infact, every adult, by default, becomes a teacher.

What are we teaching our children? Do we really want another scene from Ujjain to be recreated?